Life Outside Quidditch
by Black Knight 03
Summary: Harry and Katie find a life outside Qudditch. HP-KB
1. Hospital

Disclaimer - J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

A/N - After almost two years, I've finally finished my Harry/Katie claim at 7spells on LJ, and I'm now going to start posting the story here. I took 7 prompts and used them in some way to write the 7 parts/moments of this story. As usual, much thanks to Thoth for her help in editing my ramblings.

Part 1 – Hospital

Prompt 1 - five shades of white

Katie Bell groaned as she tried to get comfortable in the stiff hospital bed. If there was one thing Katie hated most of all, it was hospitals. They were stuffy, way too clean and organized, and the eerie silence drove her crazy. Unfortunately, she seemed to spend too much time in them.

This particular time, she had been in a tryout with the Holyhead Harpies for a spot on their reserve team. It had been going well, in Katie's opinion, until the Harpies captain decided she wanted to see how she'd would react under some live action. Quickly, Gwenog Jones and her partner took flight, batting Bludgers back and forth while Katie was flying through a makeshift obstacle before trying to score through one of the three hoops.

It had started off slow and easy, but quickly sped up to game speed. After a few successful passes through the course, she was about half way through another run, when, just as Katie was coming out of a turn, a Bludger hooked in to her, slamming into her shoulder with a loud, bone cracking thud. The impact had shattered her shoulder, not just effectively ending the tryout, but Katie found herself in the hospital.

Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the sharp stabs of pain shooting around her shoulder as she moved around. The potions had been vile, but were needed to be sure her shoulder healed properly. _In the thousand or so years those things have been around, one would think they make those blasted things taste better._

Reopening her eyes, she shifted again, still searching for a halfway comfortable position. While she moved around, her eyes fell on a large, over stuffed teddy bear sitting on the chair in the corner. A gift from the twins. After Angelina, a reserve Chaser on the Harpies and the one who had arranged the tryout, had taken her to the hospital, she had Flooed the twins. In turn, they immediately showed up, with arms full of random gifts and the full intent of cheering her up.

She smiled as she remembered the nurses having to make the twins leave when their cheering up was getting a bit out of hand.

Katie knew there was most likely more to the bear than met the eye, she still appreciated the gesture. _They go overboard most of the time, but they're still great friends. _

A knock on the door frame surprised her. Quickly shifting, so she was facing the door, she grinned at the figure standing in the doorway.

"Excuse me, is this the Katie Bell suite?"

Katie smirked, and quickly shot back. "Well, I did ask for the Potter wing."

Harry grinned and snickered as he entered the room. "I heard what happened." Before Katie could ask how, Harry told her, "News travels fast in the Quidditch world."

"I got you something," he said as he showed her a small teddy bear. As he took a few more steps into the room, he caught sight of the larger one in the corner. "Uh," he muttered a little self consciously as he looked down at his gift.

"From the twins," Katie told him. "At least I know your's won't blow up or anything," she kidded as she reached out and motioned for him to give her his bear.

Settling in the chair next to the bed, "So how bad is it?"

"I shattered the shoulder, breaking my collar bone, plus some nerve, ligament, and tendon damage. They gave me some healing potions and it'll take some time for it to completely heal."

Harry made a disgusted face as he remembered his own experience with the healing potions, especially the Skele-grow. "You never are one to have a minor injury."

"It's a talent, I guess," Katie told him with a sarcastic grin. "Do you know there is at least five shades of white just in this room?" she asked, trying to get rid of the silence that was coming back.

"What?" Harry asked her as he snickered.

"It's true. The sheets are eggshell, the walls are off-white, the floor is cream, the ceiling," Katie stopped when Harry held up his hands.

"Alright, I believe you," he told her. "You're really spending too much time in hospital rooms if you're figuring out the different shades of white."

Katie shrugged with her good shoulder. "I got nothing but time on my hands, Cap. At least Muggle hospitals have a telly." Noticing Harry arch his eyebrows, Katie quickly told him, "Shut up." Harry just grinned back at her.

"They tell you how long it will be?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair.

Looking down at the bear she was holding in her lap, "By the end of the week I should be back to normal."

Noticing something, Harry pressed her a little. "Something else?"

After a quick inner debate, "I don't know," she said softly while beginning to play with the bear. "It's just… I'm just wondering if it's worth it. If I'm not getting told thanks for coming but we're not interested, I'm injured. It's just getting old, and I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it."

Harry sat back in his chair for a moment, his hands a steeple in front of his mouth as he thought. Katie watched him curiously, wondering what he was thinking so hard about. "Oi, Potter."

"How about you give it one more try?" Harry finally asked. Giving him a question look, Harry continued, "I was just thinking… the Cannons are revamping their lineup."

"To build around their star seeker," Katie added cheekily.

"I didn't say that," Harry told her, but still a small smirk played on his lips. "But anyway, there's going to be an open tryout in late winter, early spring. I was going to ask you anyway, but… what if you give it a go, see what happens, and then make your decision."

Staying quiet for a moment, Katie mulled it over. "I don't know," she answered softly.

"What if I helped you train?"

"Train?" Katie knew most professional Quidditch players practiced a lot, but she never knew any of them that actually trained. Much less in the off-season.

"Mainly conditioning," Harry said. "The better shape you're in, the better your flying is. It's something I picked up from soccer players. Also, some flying drills Ron and me cooked up. It'd take some tweaking, but I know we can make a version for a Chaser."

Katie looked at him, trying to make herself say no, but her competitive edge was too powerful. "Alright," she said in mock defeat. Harry grinned while she flopped back against the pillows wondering just what she had agreed to.

"Am I interrupting anything?" a third voice asked curiously from the doorway.

Both turned to the doorway to see a tan skinned brunette standing there with a half grin. "Leesh," Katie called out, motioning for her to come in. Growing up surrounded by brothers, Alicia and Angelina were like the older sisters she never had.

"Angie flooed me to check on ya." Then with a grin, Alicia glanced at Harry, "But it looks to me like you're doing alright."

"Very funny, Leesh."

Harry watched Alicia sit down on the bed, next to Katie's feet. For a few minutes, he listened to the two women chat about this and that and occasionally laugh or giggle about something. Starting to feel a little uncomfortable, Harry quickly stood up. "I gotta get going," Harry quickly muttered.

"Oh, come on, Potter," Alicia teased. "We promise not to make you blush… too much."

Smirking back at her, "As tempting as that is, I have to get back to London."

"Let me know when you get out and we can set something up," Harry told Katie before walking out.

When he was out the door, Alicia turned to Katie with an arched eyebrow. "Something you'd like to share? It's not every witch that gets a little bedside attention from the famous Chosen One."

"Belt up," Katie told her while rolling her eyes. "He's going to help me get ready for another tryout."

"Pity," Alicia said sarcastically under her breath.

Katie smirked back. "Can we talk about something other than Potter?"

"Actually, I do have something." Alicia moved from the bed to the chair Harry vacated moments earlier. "It's kind of perfect timing really. My editor is sending me to cover the America Cup." The America Cup was a Quidditch tournament held between the North American national teams for their region's championship. It was held every four years, in between World Cups.

"Congratulations."

Alicia rolled her eyes. While working as a reporter for _The Quidditch Report_ did have its perks, it also had its downside. "Yea, say that before I tell you where it is. The Cup is being held in northern Canada. There's some dome on one of the small islands in the very north of Canada. It's decent at the site, but every where else… in the middle of winter? Yea, this will be fun."

"So what do you need?"

"I'm going to be going back and forth for about a month, staying there for a couple of days on end. I want to know if you'd house sit and take care of Tatiana for me. When Angie told me about your injury, I figured you need a place to crash for awhile and knowing you, you really didn't want to go to your parents." The two girls laughed at knowing each other so well.

"I guess it'll be alright," Katie agreed with a shrugged. "But if your precious cat scratches me again."

"Great, I leave a few days after New Year's," Alicia told her. "Why don't you crash there now anyway. With Angie moved in with the twins, I have an open room."

"Alright. The Healers say I should be out of here in a day or two."

"Then it's settled. I've got to get back and hand in my work before the vein in my boss's neck pops," she said standing up.

As Alicia passed through the doorway, she paused, and with a grin turned to Katie. "And tell Potter to stop by, too. It's been too long since we made him turn bright red," she told her, and motioned towards the small teddy bear that Katie was still holding in her lap. Alicia laughed as Katie jokingly flipped her the bird and walked out.

Looking down at her lap, she turned the bear so it was facing her. Taking her wand, she looked up for a moment to make sure no one was around, and cast a spell on the bear's eyes. Changing them from the normal black to a deep green. Giggling for a moment, she shook her head at herself before going back to trying to find a comfortable position to lay in. _I'd call the ceiling ivory._


	2. The Media

A/N – I'm sorry I forgot to mention this in Part 1, but this story will be slightly AU. I started writing this before DH came out, and finished it afterwards. I think the biggest thing that comes up, aside from ignoring the epilogue, is that a particular character is still alive. The rest is minor little details that crop up here and there.

Part 2 – The Media

Prompt # 2 – newspapers

It was the end of a rather long practice and Harry was dog tired. Sinking into the chair in front of his locker, he removed his goggles and gently flipped them into his locker. Taking the end of the towel hanging over his shoulder, he wiped the sweat from his face. Holding the towel against his face for a moment, he could hear them approach even before one of them asked a question. Heaving a sigh, he slouched in his chair and looked up. He was right, even without his glasses, he could see he was surrounded by a small army of reporters. He lost some of the finer details without the aide of his glasses or Quidditch goggles, but he felt he wasn't missing much. _There just going to ask me the same stupid questions as they always do._

"Harry!" about ten of them shouted at the same time, then quickly the rest followed suit.

Finally, one got across an audible question to him. "What went wrong against the Harpies?"

"They played better," he said slowly, trying to put the best spin he could on the fact they kicked their asses. "Their Chasers are the top trio in the League, and their Beaters showed why they belong on the National team."

"After all of your success on the Hogwarts pitch, is it frustrating to play with a team like the Cannons?"

Biting his lip before he could snap at the reporter, Harry took a moment before answering. "Change doesn't come quickly, or by adding one player. We _are_ playing better and we'll continue to improve."

The reporter continued to press, "As a franchise Seeker-"

"Your term, not mine," Harry interrupted.

"As one of the best Seekers in the game," he reworded, "don't you feel frustrated or held back by the play?"

"No," he answered simply. Unfortunately, he learned simple, one word answers didn't please these sharks and they would just press harder. "I'm still learning myself. It's a hard jump going from school to professional, and I didn't even play my last year at Hogwarts. This is only my second year, we're growing together as a team.

Another reporter fired off another question before the original could ask another follow up. "But it must be a humbling experience to lose to an all female team."

Harry glared at the reporter, "How so?" He noticed the reporter shrink away, trying to hide in the crowd. "It doesn't matter if they were women or trolls, they were the better team. Have you ever tried to stop Johnson's curve? Go ask Oliver how much that Quaffle moves around."

Seeing an opening, another reporter started shooting off questions. "You mentioned the National team. Are you going to play in the World Cup?"

"If called," Harry answered, and chose to ignore the laughing of the reporters who thought it a sure thing. "I'd be very tempted and would have to give it some thought."

"The Euro Cup is coming up, Bulgaria is a heavy favorite going in. What do you think England's chances are?"

"As good as any."

"What about possibly facing Krum in a Bulgaria-England final?"

A small smile slowly drew on his lips and he let his eyes slowly looked about the crowd. "Should be fun."

"Harry," a female voice cried out from the back and Harry tried his best to see who it was. "Alicia Spinnet, _The Quidditch Report._ A personal question, if I may?"

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, he wearily nodded his head. _What is Spinnet going on about?_

"Recently, you've been spotted with a rather attractive blonde, any comment on who she is?" The look on his face made Alicia want to start laughing. She watched as he worked out what she just said in his head while the other reporters clamored for more information. When the green eyes laser-locked on hers, she knew he understood. She snickered softly under her breath.

"There's nothing to comment on," Harry said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Simply an old school mate."

After another few minutes of questions, Harry excused himself from the crowd to go shower. Afterwards, clean and dressed, he left the locker room and headed towards one of the Pitch's Apparition points.

Hearing jogging footsteps behind him, Harry glanced over his shoulder. Seeing Alicia jog up to him, he slowed down and turned around. "What the hell was that?"

Unfazed, Alicia just grinned as she stopped in front of him. "Oh, come on, Harry. There's stories every day about you with someone witch… or wizard," she teased, ignoring Harry's death glare.

"Does Katie know?"

"Know what?"

Harry watched Katie walking up from behind Alicia. "That your friend here, basically made it seem like we were a couple."

"Why?" Katie asked, staring at the back of the Alicia's head.

"Because it's my job," Alicia explained. "Plus, it's fun rattling Harry's cage a little. As for you, maybe next time you won't wake me up before dawn." While best friends, the temporary living arrangements of the two women weren't working out as well as they hoped.

"Now," Alicia said, turning towards Harry, "My editor is letting me try a new column, _Outside The Pitch_, and I can't think of anyone better then the great, generous, and handsome, I may add, Harry Potter."

"Oh, now she wants an interview," Harry muttered, throwing his hands into the air.

"Please," Alicia pretended to beg, looking at him with a pair of big doe eyes.

Swearing under his breath, "Fine."

"Perfect," she said with a smug smile. "Three Broomsticks, five minutes. I'll go get us a table," she said rapidly, just before Apparating away with a soft pop.

Looking at Katie, "Why?"

Grinning, Katie patted his arm. "Cause you're a nice guy and would bend over backwards for your friends… no matter how mad they make you."

After Harry arrived, found the table, and ordered a few drinks, Alicia started going through a whole checklist of random questions. Things like favorite color, hobbies, favorite place to go on vacation were all covered by the time their table received some visitors. Katie simply sat there listening with a grin as she nursed a butterbeer.

"My dear brother, what do we have here," a voice spoke up.

"Why it's our dear benefactor and partner," an identical voice said, not missing a beat from the first.

"Gred, Forge," Harry greeted, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"And quite the company he keeps," Fred said. "Too bad I am a married man."

"But I am not," George said, taking a seat next to Alicia.

"And don't you forget it," a third voice said. As George sat down, Angelina came into view. "Leesh. How's the arm Katie?" For a moment, Harry and Angelina stared at each other. "Harry."

"Angelina."

As everyone sat around the table, even the jovial twins were quiet as they could feel the tension between the two former Gryffindor Quidditch Captains. When Angelina was captain, Harry seemed to be constantly running a foul of then Hogwarts High Inquisitor Umbridge. Angelina was under intense pressure to continue the Gryffindor dynasty, and the trouble Harry was getting into, even if not caused by himself, was frustrating. Then after he was hit with the lifetime ban, they had had it out in the locker room. If it hadn't been for Katie and Alicia, she probably wouldn't have gone to the D.A. meetings. The two haven't spoken more than a few words to each other since Alicia and Angelina's graduation a few years ago.

As Alicia's interview went on, Katie watched as Harry and Angelina continued to eye each other from across the table. As if one was waiting for the other to say something so they could go off in retaliation. _This is so stupid. They're acting like five year olds._

As Alicia wrapped up, Harry excused himself and went to the bar for another drink. "Hasn't this gone far enough?" Katie asked as she sat back down.

"Uh?" Angelina answered, surprised by Katie.

"This stupid, petty grudge you two have had for almost five years," Katie said, her voice going up an octave or two. "I'm sick of listening to you two constantly bad mouth each other, and then act like five year prats when you're in the same room."

"Watch it," Angelina snapped back.

Narrowing her eyes, Katie quickly retorted. "No, you watch it." Standing up quickly, Katie quickly headed towards Harry and the bar.

Fred let out a soft whistle. "That's the first time I've ever seen my Angel loose a fight." Angelina quickly turned to her husband and gave him a death glare, which he wilted under.

"Angie," Alicia said.

Folding her arms across her chest, she rested her chin against her chest. "Not now."

As Katie approached, she watched Harry quickly down a shot of Firewhisky. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a couple Sickles onto the counter before motioning the barkeep to refill Harry's glass and one for herself.

Harry watched in amazement and amusement as Katie effortlessly downed the drink. Following suit, and ignoring the burning sensation in his throat, he gasped out, "What?"

"I've finished watching you two butt heads," she said, motioning for another shot.

Watching her down it, "How…," Harry started to ask, but decided to go back to the topic at hand. "Who butt what?"

"You and Angie," she explained. "You two want to snipe at each other? Fine, but I'm not going to deal with it. You're both my friends, but I'm not going to put up with either of you if continue this over something so stupid."

"Quidditch isn't stupid," came Angelina's voice, "it's just the players get a little too obsessive." Then looking at Harry, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Regarding her for a moment, he replied, "I'd have to say so."

"Gits," Katie muttered under her breath.

Harry and Angelina snickered as Katie walked back to the table while shaking her head. "She's right, you know?" Angelina said.

"Speak for yourself," Harry told her sarcastically.

"I suppose it wasn't your fault that the Fat Toad was an incompetent, bureaucratic drone."

Harry smirked, "And I suppose you were under enough pressure trying to keep the team together without my… _help_."

"Alicia told me what you said about my toss," she said. Harry shrugged it off, and Angelina rolled her eyes. "If I didn't have my head up my arse, I'd realize you were probably one of the best teammates I've ever had. And if I had been thinking proper, I'd have decked the Ferret first."

Harry laughed out loud at that image, knowing Angelina had a mean right hook.

"I also heard you're helping Katie," she said. "What do you think?"

"It's too early, she's healed but we really haven't done much flying yet, less so against opposition." After ordering a round of butterbeers, "But if anyone can bounce back from an injury, it's Bell."

Before they left the bar, and back to the table, Angelina had the shot glass refilled. Holding her glass towards Harry, "To what? Us making the National Squad? Teammates again?"

Harry gave her a wicked grin as he raised his own glass. "To belting the Ferret!" Both laughed as they clinked glasses and downed the shot.


	3. Running Through The Woods

Part 3 – Running Through The Woods

Prompt # 3 – cold hands, cold feet

Katie could hear someone knocking loudly on the apartment's front door, but instead of even thinking of answering it, she simply burrowed deeper under the covers of her bed and wished the person would bugger off. It had been the first night she had actually gotten a decent night's sleep and not woken up by pain from her latest injury. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the bliss of her bed.

After a few moments, Katie figured the person either got tired of knocking or Alicia had eventually answered the door. It didn't matter to her, all she cared about was going back to sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen. For, just as she got comfortable, the covers were ripped off her bed and she was greeted with the frigid sting of the cold air.

"Hey!" Katie screamed as she bolted up right and tried to grab any of the covers back. After a brief tug of war, Katie was only able to drag back a single blanket that she wrapped around her. Looking up, she found an amused Harry smirking down at her. "What you playing at?" she snapped up at him. "How'd you know I was wearing anything?"

"Well then, I would've gotten a much better view, wouldn't I?" Harry shot back sarcastically. "Workout time."

Katie's eyes went wide in surprise. "What? It's barely dawn!" she shouted while glancing out the window and seeing the light barely penetrating the sky.

"You agreed to this, and I told you I was coming today."

"Yea, but I thought, like a normal person, you'd come… when it's actually light outside." Katie knew she was fighting a losing fight, but was too stubborn to simply let it go.

"It is… a little." Harry couldn't help letting his grin widen as he told her, "Besides, since when have I done anything normal? Now, if you're done whining, get up." He might have been known for many things, but patience was not one of them.

"Fine," Katie practically snarled as she threw the blanket off her. As she stood up, Katie gritted her teeth as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. "Let me go shower and then see if I can keep something down," she said as she rubbed one of her feet against the back of the other calf.

"No."

Katie's head snapped towards him and fixed him with hard glare. "What?" she asked him slowly, with dangerous hint to her voice.

Harry shook his head no, as if to emphasize what he said. "Cleanup a little, get changed, and we go in five minutes." Before Katie could even complain, Harry was leaving the room. "And remember to bundle up, it's below zero right now." Shutting the door, he chuckled to himself, knowing she was swearing his existence in to the afterlife.

As he walked into the living room, Alicia smirked back at him as she tried to use coffee to wake up. "When were you supposed to leave?" Harry asked

She was supposed to leave for her over-seas assignment, and while she had intended on getting up early, it wasn't necessarily this early. "Eleven," she told him. Cocking her head a little to the side, she regarded Harry for a moment. "I figure this makes us at least even. As for Katie,… she'll make it up to me, some how," and Alicia finished with an evil glint in her eye. Having the twins as best friends, one tended to pick a few tricks up.

Roughly a hour later, Katie was trudging through the heavy snow that had fallen last night, trying hard to at least keep up with Harry. After some light stretching, Harry had Side-along Apparated them to the wooden area outside Ottery St. Catchpole. After landing and gathering their bearings, he made her start running, but not without a fight.

Some of the paths that they were running had been broken a little, but with last nights snowfall in the area, it left a about a half a foot of snow that they had to run through. Harry hadn't kept up a tough pace, but between having little energy, not being in the best physical shape, and trudging through the snow, it felt ten times worse for Katie

As Katie gasped for air, she glared at Harry's back. They had been going for over an hour, and he hadn't even broken stride once. Though, she suspected that he had gradually slowed, most likely so she could keep up with him. _Harry must die,_ had become the mantra that kept repeating in her head. Once her hands and feet were practically frozen and her legs aching and burning from running, she had started plotting his death. The longer they went, the more elaborate the plans got.

When Harry finally slowed to a halt, Katie sighed in relief as she stumbled the remaining yards to him. Doubling over, she put her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths. "Why… are we… running?" she asked in between deep breaths. She stomped her feet, not just knocking the snow off her trainers, but also to get the some feeling back in them. It felt like she was running with cement shoes below her ankles.

"Endurance," Harry explained, as he slowly stretched out his legs. "The higher your endurance, the longer you can last. When the rest of them start dropping out of the sky, you'll still be flying circles around them. I've learned that you can win starting out fast and hard, but it's those you can still play hard after two, three hours, that'll win more often."

Slowly standing up straight and ignoring the burning pain in her legs, Katie nodded. _Makes sense, I guess. But why are we running around in the snow before any other sane person is even out of bed. If we had waited, the sun would've at least made the snow softer and easier to get through. But no, the sadistic one over here as to run through the hard stuff._

"I've always enjoyed this time of day," Harry said, almost as if reading her thoughts. Looking at him curiously, he went on, "It's quiet and peaceful. No one else around for at least a couple of miles. This is probably the only time of day I can be alone and think."

_Oh. _ Katie walked away a few feet, rubbing her hands together and blowing on them as she looked around the clearing they had been standing in. _Well, I guess no one ever accused of Harry being sane anyway,_ she thought with a soft giggle under her breath.

Harry watched her intently for a minute. _Why is she cold? Unless, _he thought as he watched her stick her hands underneath her arms. "Katie, if your hands are cold, why didn't you cast a Warming Charm?"

"How am I supposed to cast it on my hands?"

"Not your hands," he corrected. "On your gloves, and your socks too."

Katie looked down at her hands with a mixed look of embarrassment and anger at her own stupidity. She wasn't so sure what irritated her more, the fact she didn't cast the charm on her gloves or that Harry had pointed out her error to her.

Harry smiled softly as he walked up to her, took her hands in between his own and without saying a word, cast the Warming Charm on her gloved hands.

Keeping her hands in his, he slowly began rubbing them; for the Charm to work properly, Katie needed to get the circulation going again. While he was rubbing her hands, Katie stared at his face. Even though there was no sign of any emotion, she continued to stare, as if memorizing his features from up close. As his eyes slowly looked up into hers, she couldn't help but notice the sharp shade of green they were. She slowly smiled as she watched them grow and his body jerk back, startled a little.

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled with a forced smile, as he jammed one hand into a jacket pocket and used the other to rub the back of his head. "I figure if you want to be a Chaser, you're going to need your hands," he tired to joke.

This time she was the one smirking, enjoying the turn of events. "I don't exactly remember complaining."

Both stood there for a moment, quietly looking back at the other. Neither was really sure what to say next. Something about the situation gave Katie an odd feeling, and it unnerved her quick moment of superiority. Quickly trying to shake it, she broke the silence. "I didn't know you could do wandless magic."

Harry shrugged. "I can't really. I have the ability to do it, but I lack the control beyond the very basic of spells." Harry turned to face a tree, and pointed at it. "See this tree," he paused for Katie to stand next to him. "Say I wanted to simply snap a branch and have it come to me. I can cast the spell correctly, but I struggle to control my power, and I'd probably end up uprooting the whole tree and sending it flying towards me. The wand helps me channel and control my power. I can cast wordlessly, but the most advanced spells I can do wandlessly, are defensive shields and stuff like Warming Charms, Lumos, and Summoning my wand."

Katie stood quiet for a moment. "I kind of always thought you could do anything," she finally confessed. This was Harry Potter, the little boy who had made the House Team his first year, faced and survived Voldemort countless times. It was kind of hard picturing him with limitations.

The two laughed a little at her statement. "McGonagall said, if I put forth the effort, studied, and I applied myself, I could learn to harness it. But,…."

"I don't blame you. The last thing you want to do when you get out of school is to go back to school." Harry and Katie smirked at each other for a moment, before Harry motioned with his head that they should get started again.

Rolling her eyes, and sighing theatrically, "Fine." Harry snickered and shook his head as the two started running again.

Even though the small break had given her a second wind, it hadn't lasted long for Katie, as she was quickly lagging behind again. The worse part was that Harry seemed to be pushing them harder. Then, as they broke from the tree line, she could see an oddly shaped cottage off a few hundred yards. _So, that's where we're going. Please let that be where we're going._

As they finally seemed to near the Burrow, Harry suddenly broke out into a sprint and effortlessly, it seemed to her, reached the Burrow's front door. _Bludger!_ Katie shouted to herself as she watched him. Gathering what little energy she had left, she pushed herself to cover the final few yards.

"Come on, Bell," Harry taunted from the stoop as he knocked on the door. "Mrs. Weasley will have your head if you let her breakfast get cold."

Exhausted, and with a bit of defiance, Katie walked the final few meters. All the while thinking, _Harry must die._


	4. Flying

Part 4 – Flying

Prompt # 4 – above the thunder

As Katie sat at the large Weasley dinner table, she couldn't help but feel out of place. While outwardly polite, Mrs. Weasley kept giving her these odd looks that made her uncomfortable. Every time in the past, when she had come to Burrow, Mrs. Weasley was open and extremely friendly to her. Now, it seemed to be the entire opposite.

_Knew this was a bad idea. Why did I let the fool talk me into dinner?_

Even when she and Harry had come for breakfast a few times after their morning runs, Mrs. Weasley had been very happy to see them. She had been practically making sure they ate thirds of whatever huge breakfast she had made.

Every Sunday, Mrs. Weasley insisted on having every Weasley who was available, including Harry, come to the Burrow for a family dinner. With a smaller crowd than normal this Sunday, Harry had insisted that Katie join them. There was always more than enough food, and with Alicia, George's girlfriend, and Ginny out of the country, there was more than enough space.

Trying to avoid Mrs. Weasley's calculating gaze, Katie looked around the table. She was sitting between Arthur, at the head of the table, and Harry, on her right. Hermione was next to him, with Ron on her other side, and next to him was Molly, at the other end of the table. Across from her, Fred and George flanked Angelina.

Angelina glanced at Molly, and then to Katie, trying to give an encouraging smile. She knew what it was like to be under Mrs. Weasley's scrutinizing, but also knew that, for Katie, it was probably much worse.

To Mrs. Weasley, true or not, Katie was taking the place she had always hoped her only daughter would have. It was supposed to be one big happy Weasley family, and this was a direct threat to her vision. Whether that vision had any place in reality anymore didn't matter to her. Angelina only hoped Katie was strong enough to weather the storm.

"Had enough, dear?" Molly asked Katie, giving her a piercing stare.

Feeling like she was back testing for her N.E.W.T.s, Katie quickly tried to come up with the right answer. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you, it was delicious," she answered, trying to give Mrs. Weasley what she hoped was a sincere smile.

Only getting a stiff nod in return, Katie looked down at her plate and sunk in her chair. Sighing softly, she glanced at a nearby wall clock, one that actually told the time, and could only wish the end of this meal would come quick enough.

"Hey, Harry," Fred called from across the table, with a smirk. "Charlie and Bill are coming by later."

"With Samantha and Fleur," George said to his twin, and the two smiled identical smiles.

"Samantha, the one with the-" Fred started to say, but was interrupted by Angelina.

"With the what?" Angelina asked, dangerously.

Turning to his wife, he took on a look of innocence. "Eyes, Angie, eyes."

"Yea," Angelina said doubtfully and rolled her eyes as the twins shared another mischievous smile. She knew that her fiancé had wandering eyes, and both twins were notorious flirts, but beyond that, she knew that in the end, Fred was committed to only one.

In the meantime, Katie watched as Harry and Ron also glanced at each other. While their grins were similar to the twins, they were for a completely different reason. While the twins wanted to ogle their older brothers significant others, the younger two knew a pickup Quidditch game was bound to happen with that many Weasleys around.

_I'm not sure which one has their priorities screwed up more,_ Katie thought as she finished the piece of chicken on her plate.

"Have you heard from Alicia?" Harry asked her, pulling her from thoughts.

"The other day. Said she was cold, but otherwise enjoying herself," Katie said, turning slightly to face him. Looking over Harry's shoulder, she glanced at Mrs. Weasley and immediately wished she hadn't at seeing the cold, hard look she was giving her.

"Katie?" Harry asked, noticing she was distracted. When her eyes quickly snapped back to him, he asked, "Are you ok?"

Giving him a weak smile, "Yea, I'm fine."

True to form, shortly after Bill and Charlie arrived, the group quickly headed towards the makeshift pitch at the nearby orchard.

Since there weren't enough players for a proper game, the group split into two sides of four, three Chasers and one Seeker, and open hoops. Katie and Harry were teamed with George and Ron, while Angelina and Fred were with Bill and Charlie.

As they took a few warm up laps around the orchard, Katie glanced up at Harry. He was flying around at a higher altitude than everyone else, but still keeping below the tree line and out of sight of Muggles. Slipping into loops and corkscrew spins as he flew around, Harry seemed to be enjoying himself.

While the Chasers stayed in the air, the two Seekers landed and retrieved a well worn Quaffle and a slightly used Snitch from an old trunk. As they returned to, roughly, the center of their pitch, Harry cast a small charm on the Snitch, in order to make sure it stayed within the confides of the orchard.

As Harry activated and released the Snitch, Charlie threw the Quaffle up in the middle of the pack of Chasers. Once they were off with the Quaffle, Harry and Bill quickly remounted and were airborne once again, in search of the Snitch.

While scanning the skies, Harry tired his best to keep an eye on Katie, under the pretext of watching how well she played. He found himself grinning when she stole the Quaffle from Fred, and out flew Charlie, to score another goal for their team.

With Harry's eyes looking below them, Charlie grinned to himself as he flew past Harry, buzzing him, reminding him of where to keep his head if he wanted to catch the Snitch. Glancing back, to mark Harry, he smirked when he saw Harry right himself on his broom and take off hard and fast after him. Come on Potter. There'll be time later to watch the girls. Right now, I'm going to beat you at your best.

As the dogfight ensued above, Katie quickly tossed the Quaffle to Ron before diving to avoid a swipe from Bill trying to steal it. Out of the action for a moment, Katie checked her shoulder, and was thrilled to only find it a bit sore. The taskmaster's training is paying off, she thought to herself with a snicker. Seeing an opening on the left side of the goal, a large hole made in to a thick tree trunk, Katie quickly headed for it while yelling at George to feed her the Quaffle.

As it grew too dark to play, everyone landed and began heading back towards the Burrow for some dessert. Noticing that Harry was still standing on the pitch, broom in hand, staring up at the sky, Katie handed Angelina the broom she had borrowed and doubled back.

"Harry?" Katie asked when she got close enough.

"It's going to storm tonight," Harry said, as he squinted up at the darkening night sky. Almost as if in response, a soft rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. Turning his attention to her, "How's the shoulder?"

Rubbing it a little, Katie shrugged. "A little tired, but pretty good."

"Good. You should stretch it out later, it'll help make sure it doesn't cramp up later." Harry looked back skyward again. For an early spring evening, it was unnaturally warm out. "I'm not ready to go back in just yet." Shifting his broom, ready to mount it, he glanced at Katie. "Go for a ride?"

"On a V2 Comet?" asked Katie sarcastically. "Yea." When she moved to sit behind Harry, he stopped her. "You drive." Harry smirked when Katie's eyes lit up and she quickly climbed on, making sure Harry had enough room behind her.

As Harry got on, he pressed tightly against her back and his arms braced her sides as his hands took hold of the broom between her legs. "Comfy?" Katie asked sarcastically. If it was possible, she was comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.

In her ear, which caused her to shiver a little, Harry said, "Kick off easy. Even with the extra weight, it'll get away from you."

Trying to time it right, Harry picked his legs up just before Katie pushed off the ground. "A little jerky, but not bad," Harry teased her and snickered when she simply grunted in reply.

As they slowly gained altitude, some of Katie's hair started whipping into his face. Gathering it as best he could into makeshift ponytail, he pushed it to one side, and over his shoulder. Pressed as close as he could to Katie, Harry could smell an odd mixture of sweat with a hint of perfume mixed in. "You need a bath," he teased.

"You don't smell so good yourself, Golden Boy."

As they pulled higher in to the night sky, Harry tried to keep his eyes off Katie and hopefully his mind clear of any wrong thoughts. Luckily, the thunder getting louder in advance of the incoming storm provided a nice distraction.

"Harry?"

Harry's eyes went wide and his immediate reaction was to make sure his body wasn't reacting. "Uh?"

Katie glanced back at him, confused, as she leveled the broom off. "Where to?"

"Just a quick spin around the orchard," he said quickly, not completely trusting his voice. Katie gave him another curious look, before leaning forward to begin a lap around the orchard. "I'm not sure how long we have."

As they rounded around the end of the orchard, Katie found that when she leaned in to gain speed, Harry was forced to lean forward too. Not really realizing she was doing it, Katie kept leaning forward and gaining more speed with each lap. Finally, trying to come out of another turn, they were going too fast for Katie to control and the broom started bucking.

"I got it," Harry immediately ordered and quickly tightened his grip as Katie loosened hers. With her heart pumping wildly, she felt Harry's arms tightened around her sides as he fought for control. "Hold on," Harry yelled before pulling the broom into a steep loop.

Coming out of the loop, Harry immediately brought the broom to the ground.

With her feet on solid ground, Katie felt herself gasping for air as she released the breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Bowing her head, she swore to herself for letting herself getting distracted. Quickly dismounting, without even thinking, Katie flexed her injured shoulder.

Placing the broom on the ground, Harry reached out and touched her other shoulder. "Katie."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I thought I could-" Katie started to say but was cut off by the loudest bang of the thunder yet and a cold drizzle started.

As the cold rain steadily increased, Harry looked up at the sky again while Katie grabbed a nearby twig. Transfiguring the twig into an umbrella, she watched Harry summon his broom back into his hand.

Walking over to him, she placed the umbrella over both of them. "A Knut for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking of what it'd be like to fly over a storm, above the thunder."

Not sure why she was asking, but on impulse, "By yourself?"

Harry's eyes slowly shifted from the sky to her. "Maybe not." Leaning in, Harry lightly kissed her. While she had imagined what it'd be like to kiss _the_ Harry Potter, like so many other Witches have done, this was some how different. But, this wasn't the Boy Who Lived. This was her friend, Harry Potter, and the kiss was nice.


	5. Something More Than Quidditch?

Part 5 - Something More Than Quidditch?

Part 5 – Something More Than Quidditch?

Prompt # 5 – disheveled

As Katie ran another lap through the Cannons' obstacle course at their training field, she found herself questioning why she was doing this. Not this particular moment, but it was a part of it. She was wondering why she was pushing herself so hard to get back in to playing form.

She had never trained this hard before; though some of Wood's practices came close. She had always considered herself a decent Chaser. The problem was, being decent didn't get you into the British and Irish Quidditch League. You had to be excellent, _Like Angie._

Sharply taking a turn around a pylon, trying to cut her time, _I remember when this used to be fun, now… it's tedious. Do I want to play pro?_

_Angie says you're on the road a lot, _ she thought while ducking through a hoop as a Bludger flew over her shoulder. _And that's just the regular season. Doesn't even count the various club and national tournaments Angie plays in. _

_I had a hard enough time getting through three matches spanned over what… nine months? Is this what I really want to do?_

Crossing the finish line, _If not, then why am I doing this? _ Quickly glancing at the magical display that showed her time, _It took me five tries and everything I had just to get to a minute and a half near the slowest time. _Sighing softly, she headed back down to the ground. _Why am I doing this?_

As she descending, she could see Harry and Andromeda below her, rapidly increasing in size. A few yards still to go, Katie let a small smile appear on her tired face as she could now see what they were doing. _Him. That's why I'm doing this. _

As Andromeda fretted nervously, Harry was hovering a few feet off the ground with a three year old Teddy Lupin seated in front of him. Katie found herself laughing softy as she began to make out Teddy's excited laughter and pleads to go higher.

What had started as a friend helping a friend had somehow, quickly evolved in to this. What this was, Katie wasn't sure, but she was sure that if she hadn't already, she was falling for the Boy Wonder. As she landed near them, Harry shot a glance towards her and gave her an awkward smile as he tried to keep one eye on Teddy and what they were doing. _Not so much a boy anymore, eh? _

Quickly pushing those ideas out of her head before they could even start, she softly touched her feet to the grass and with a groan of stiffness, dismounted.

As she dropped her broom to the ground, and quickly plopped down beside it, she continued to watch Harry and Teddy as they hovered. Harry was in complete control but she knew that Andromeda was still worrying none the less. _Even if she hadn't lost her husband and daughter, she'd still be nervous about her grandson. _

Harry still had no idea how to approach anything with Teddy. Try and be the cool uncle like Sirius wanted to be with him, a mentor or teacher like Teddy's father was to him, or to be like a real father that both of them had been denied. But even though it was an evolving process, one thing was true; the two had bonded tightly as family.

Katie laughed loudly as she once again heard Andromeda ask them to be careful, only to be drowned out by the three year old's cries of, "Higher, Uncle Harry, higher!"

After a quick shower and change, Harry and Katie Apparated to the alley between Alicia's apartment building and the neighboring building. Then, making sure no one was looking, they slipped out of the alley and on to the sidewalk. Walking up the steps, Katie found herself alternating between glancing at Harry and fidgeting about her.

She was so distracted, that while instinctively she reached for the door, she didn't give herself enough clearance and smacked the door into her injured shoulder. _What the hell?_ she thought while clenching her teeth as pain temporarily shot through her arm. Hearing a soft snicker, she glared at Harry for a moment, who only offered a small smirk in reply.

Once inside the flat, without a word, Harry dropped on to the couch, and after a detour to the kitchen to grab two Butterbeers, Katie sank down next to him. After Harry took one of the bottles, Katie popped hers open and took a long swig from it.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She was exhausted, sore, and a little bit frustrated. _Why am I doing this? He keeps saying that I'll get better in time, what if I don't want to put in the time anymore. I'm constantly sore and exhausted, and it seems that all I do is train. I'd like to do something else every once in awhile. I like playing, but this is getting to be too much. _

_But if I stop, what about Harry? We've been friendly for a long time, but now, it's like we really are… friends. I don't want to go back to what it was like before. A few minutes conversation during the rare moments we happen to cross paths._

_Damn it, Potter. Why did you have to kiss me? _

As Harry took his own drink, he glanced at Katie from the corner of his eye. _Why is she being so quiet? Quiet is never a good sign, is it? Why the hell do I do things without thinking? You'd think after everything, I'd start thinking before I step in it. _

Noticing Katie rotating her shoulder, Harry couldn't help himself. "If you expect it to get any better, you really shouldn't try to walk through doors," he said, barely holding back his laughter.

Katie lowered the bottle that was poised on her lips, and glared at Harry. "At least I'm not the one with the hero complex," she shot back. "And if you were any kind of gentleman, you'd offer to give me a shoulder rub."

"Good thing I'm no gentleman," Harry said, snickering to himself. Kate responded, by putting her bottle down on the nearby coffee table, and then as she turned back to Harry, she jabbed him hard in the shoulder. After a brief struggle, even though she was taller, Harry over powered Katie. Dragging her to sit in front of him, as best he could, he tried to massage the shoulder.

While not the best massage she had ever had, it was making it feel better. Though, she wasn't about to let Harry win so easily. "Easy, Harry! My shoulders screwed up enough, I don't need your help."

Narrowing his eyes at the back of Katie's head, he kept his mouth shut as he couldn't come up with a good enough comeback. But as Katie reached up to draw her hair together and move it so it was over the other shoulder, Harry saw his opening.

As she reached up, her shirt would ride up a little, exposing a bit of her back and stomach. With a scheming grin, he released her shoulder, and then before Katie could bring her arms down, slipped his cold hands onto her skin. With a loud, surprised shriek, Katie tried to jump away but Harry had wrapped her in a bear hug again, keeping his hands on her stomach and side under her shirt.

With a string of various swears, Katie tried to lunge away, but only managed to tip them off the couch and on to the floor. After the crash to the floor, Katie was able to wiggle out of Harry's grasp.

Instead of fleeing, she spun and dove on top of Harry, trying to pin him to the ground. As the wrestling match ensued, neither noticed that the front door opened.

As Alicia took in what was happening, she could only smirk and shake her head at the two.

"Get off," Harry's muffled voice came from underneath Katie, where his head was pinned between her legs.

"Not until you give," Kate yelled as she tried to escape Harry's grasp.

Finally, not being able to hold back anymore, Alicia laughed out loud at the pair. "Honestly, you two," she said, trying to talk while laughing so hard. "If you two are going to have a go, you could be considerate enough to do it in your room, preferably behind close doors."

"Shut up," Katie snapped back defensively.

Alicia just grinned wider. "You'd make a much better case for yourself, if your pants weren't falling off," she pointed out. Katie scowled as she immediately reached down and pulled her sweatpants back up. Not forgetting Harry, Alicia turned to him and laughed again as Harry's face was still a little red and he was shifting nervously.

But before she could say anything, Harry made a hasty exit. To Katie, he said, "I'll see you… later."

"Yea," Katie mumbled, and watched as Harry Apparated out of the apartment without even a soft pop.

"How does he do that?" Alicia asked in amazement.

Katie just shrugged as she dropped back down on to the couch. "It's Harry. If you have to get out of somewhere quickly, you'd have a lot of practice Apparating too."

Later that night, as Alicia had finished unpacking and taking a shower, she walked out into the living room to find Katie curled up in an arm chair and staring out a window as it flurried outside. "Alright, what's up?" Alicia asked as she sat on the couch.

"Nothing."

Alicia gave Katie a knowing grin. "You're chewing your nails. You only do that when you're nervous."

Frowning slightly, Katie quickly withdrew her hands away from her face. "I'm just thinking."

"About?" Though, Alicia already knew what it was about, _Harry. _

"A lot of stuff," Katie answered, a little edge to her voice, and then fell quiet again. Suddenly, out of no where, Katie asked, "How did you know you wanted to be journalist?"

"There wasn't really an exact moment. I've always liked Quidditch, and since I didn't want a Ministry job, I searched for something connected. I saw the opening posted, applied, and here I am." Alicia looked at her friend curiously for a moment. "Why?"

Sinking her head a little, Katie sighed softly. "I'm not sure I want to play Quidditch anymore."

"Since when?"

"Since getting ready for this stupid tryout has left me so exhausted that I can't do anything other than train."

"So, quit? Find something else."

"I can't just quit."

"Why not? It's not like there's anything stopping-" Alicia paused for a moment as she realized why Katie was so hesitant, "-it's Harry, isn't it?"

"No," Katie said quickly, but her body language gave her away.

"You like him, don't you?" Alicia asked her rhetorically. "That's why you won't simply quit. You're worried that if you guys aren't training together anymore, he won't be around as much." Katie didn't have to say anything to confirm it, Alicia knew she was right.

"Look," she said softly. "I can't tell you what to do, you have to figure out what'll make you happy. If you can't have Harry without the Quidditch, and you don't want to play anymore, then, it's his loss. You have to do what's right for you, and fit the pieces the best you can."


	6. Bumps In The Road

Part 6 – Bumps In The Road

Prompt # 6 – so shaken as we are

There were many negative qualities Hermione could say about her best friend. Harry could be annoyingly stubborn, reckless at times, dangerously impulsive, grouchy, moody; the list could go on and on. But being a cold hearted git wasn't one she'd label him with at first thought.

Having known him for almost ten years, she knew there was more to the story than Harry just blowing up at Katie and accusing her of wasting his time. Apparently it had been a spectacular row between the two and in public too. The _Prophet _had had a field day with it for at least a week, running all kinds of exaggerated headlines.

But as Harry fidgeted across the table from her, she knew the real reason why Harry had gone off. This time, though, she wasn't going to tell him. _No, that's the easy way out. He needs to figure this out for himself. _

She watched him wrap his fingers around the tea cup, feeling the warmth it generated in to his hands, and stare in to the amber liquid.

"Trying to read your tea leaves?" she asked him, and smiled when he looked up and scowled. "Come of it, you're not going to intimate me."

Still scowling, he lowered his eyes back to the tea cup.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. "So are you going to talk to me or are we just going to sit in silence, drinking bad tea," she spoke before taking another sip, grimacing as she did. "You never could make this right," she teased.

"About the same as your cooking skills," Harry shot back. "I'm still finding bits of egg."

Hermione shrugged as she tried to keep the grin off her face. "So, what's spinning around that little mind of yours?"

"I over reacted didn't I?"

"What do you think?"

Putting his forearms down on the table, Harry leaned forward. "Quit with the psycho-babble, Hermione. The whole Wizarding world thinks I over reacted."

"When did you start caring what the rest of the Wizarding world thought about anything?"

"I don't," Harry mumbled. "I'm just tired of this damn cycle. Everytime my life gets a little better, I get blindsided by some random Bludger. Just when I have things figured out, wham! I'm knocked off my broom," he said motioning with his hands, and with the hand that was supposed to represent him, he let fall off the other and smack the table, hard.

"Blast it, why shouldn't I be upset that she wasted my time?" Harry asked rhetorically. Hermione sat back, crossing her arms across her chest, ready to watch the rant unfold before her. "I called in a big favor to even get her invited to that tryout. Do you have any idea how many people they scout to invite, much less how many of those players don't even get the invite.

"On top of that, she tells me three weeks before the tryout! We spent two months already working on getting her ready! Don't you think if she was having doubts, she'd have said something before this!"

"Harry," Hermione said calmly, but fixing him with a hard gaze. "First, stop shouting, I can hear you just fine. Two, do you honestly think Katie would pull something like this without a reason? Also, the tryout isn't for another month, would you rather she pull out right before the tryout."

"But-" Harry started to argue, but Hermione cut him off.

"You two blew up at each other because you didn't know how to deal with what Katie was saying, and she got angry because you were being a jerk."

"Oh, I forgot you have all the answers."

Hermione glared at Harry; she hated it when he got in moods like this. _Why is he my best friend? _She had to keep reminding herself that this was Harry, if it had been anyone else, she would've sent the canaries after them. "When it comes to you, I have many of them. Now stop being a prat.

"You got angry, not because she was wasting your time," Hermione let the statement hang out there for a moment and watched Harry's reaction.

Harry sat quietly for a few minutes, resting his chin on a fist; he stared at the polished wood grain of the table top. Hermione watched as a scowl slowly formed on Harry's face. He was no longer all that angry with Katie, but he was annoyed that he let his temper cloud his judgment.

_Now, he's going to beat himself up over it, _Hermione thought as he slowly clenched and unclenched his other hand.

"Stop it Harry."

Hermione's words broke through his thoughts and he turned his attention back to his best friend across from him.

Lifting his head and removing his glasses, Harry rubbed his eyes. "So, now what?"

Shrugging, Hermione drained the last bit of tea from her cup. "Try talking to Katie," she suggested. "Maybe now that you've both had time to cool off, you could actually try talking this time."

Harry leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back two legs, as he stared out in to nothing.

"Harry, ask yourself this," Hermione told him. "What is the real reason Katie pulling out upset you so much?"

Dropping his chin to his chest, Harry closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "I'm never subtle, am I?" he grumbled rhetorically.

Hermione smirked at him. "You're not subtle with anything you do."

"Wonderful," Harry snarled at himself, as he started dreading having to go talk to Katie and probably apologize for being an ass.

The same afternoon that Harry and Hermione were talking, Katie was sitting in the armchair by the window, staring out the window at the downpour happening outside.

Circling around her, like mother hens, Angelina and Alicia were trying to comfort their friend, while bickering with each other over the best way to do so. Angelina wanted to slice Harry into little pieces, but Alicia wanted to do something a little less drastic.

Katie, for her part, was simply tuning them out, lost in her own thoughts.

_I should've told him sooner. Even if I wasn't sure, I should've told him what I was thinking. It just made things worse keeping it all bottled up. He went out on a limb for me, and I screwed it up. Once again, I screw up a great thing._

Katie's memory flashed before her images of her last and only serious boyfriend, Ryan White. Ryan was a Gryffindor in her year, and they had started dating just before Katie's incident with the necklace. They grew closer when she finally returned to Hogwarts and became a couple just after graduation. While the dark times that next year were a strain, they seemed to be alright. But when Katie choose to go with her friends back to Hogwarts to help Harry, it created a deep rift between the two. Eventually, the couple split up.

Wrapping her arms around her legs, she hugged them closer to her, and felt Alicia lightly stroke her hair. Harry had been the first person since then that she had felt anything for.

_I've screwed it all up again. Merlin, why is everything in my life like diffusing a bomb?_ she asked herself.

_Hated getting up early, and the workouts usually sucked. Katie, again! Another lap, Katie! A few more yards!_ she thought, mocking the way Harry would push her just a little more towards the end.

_Little bastard was trying to kill me,_ she sadly joked to herself. Closing her eyes, Katie focused on the sounds of the rain hitting the glass plane. _But it was fun showing him up._

A small smile tugged at her lips as she remembered finally beating Harry in a foot race; they had raced one lap around the outskirts of Godric's Hallow. She also remembered the annoyed look in Harry's eyes, _He's as sore a loser as I am._

The thought of Godric's Hallow triggered another memory. After another exercise just beyond the Hallow, Harry had wandered in to the town. Following, Katie wasn't sure if he had invited her along or what, but he made no attempt to dissuade her. He even casually made comments here and there to her.

Katie remembered the statue, and then watching Harry as he stood outside what should've been his home. But the one thing that she'll never forget was the graveyard. Standing a few feet off, she watched Harry stand before his parents tombstones. He just stood there quietly, head bowed slightly.

Thinking back, _That was it. _The _moment. _

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Alicia and Angelina getting louder as they argued about the best way to cheer her up. Katie loved her friends, but too often it felt, as the youngest of three, that they tried to mother her too much. This was one of those times.

"Will you stop plotting to kill Harry!" Alicia shouted, exasperated. "We need to focus on Katie."

"I am focusing on her," Angelina fired back. "It's the little bastard's fault that she's upset."

"And while castrating the fool will make you better, how will it help Katie?" Alicia asked rhetorically.

Too busy with each other, they didn't notice Katie lift her head and regarded her two friends with annoyance. Sighing softly, Katie lowered her head, resting her forehead on her knees, and closed her eyes.

"See," Alicia said, completely misinterpreting Katie's actions. "We should be worrying about Katie, not what we're going to do to Harry."

"I am worrying about Katie," Angelina fought back. "But I'm not going to let him get away with hurting one of my best friends.

"This just proves what I said before," Angelina continued. "He's nothing more than a spoiled, little rich brat. He hasn't changed at all."

"Shut up," Katie mumbled into her legs.

Since her head was down, muffling her already soft words, Angelina didn't hear her and continued ranting. "He's a jerk, who's let his fame go to his head. He's a loose cannon, and this isn't the first time he's gotten someone hurt."

Lifting her head, but keeping her eyes closed, Katie repeated herself. "Shut up," a little louder this time.

Alicia turned to Katie, hearing her this time. "Katie?"

Angelina, lost in her own rant, continued on, venting. Like so many, she had lost family during the war, and though misguided, she found it easier to blame Harry than deal with it. After awhile, Angelina had moved past it, and began to understand that even if Harry had been able to save them, their death wasn't his fault. But this incident, brought back all those feelings in a fast rush. "How many people have died because of him?"

"I said shut up!" Katie screamed, springing to her feet with wand in hand. Before either could react, Katie had her wand at point blank range of Angelina's neck. Angelina's eyes went wide with surprise, and a bit of fear, as she felt the wand poking at her neck.

"Don't you dare say another word about Harry," Katie growled. "You of all people should know what shit Harry as had to put up with! No one _asked_ him to be the hero. He could've run away and screwed us all. But unlike some, even when almost everyone turned their backs on him, he still fought for us.

"Deep down, Harry is still a good guy. If anyone screwed up, it's me. Now, take it back, or so help me, I'll blast your head off."

"Katie," Alicia said softly, and carefully reaching out towards her stretched out arm. "Angelina's a hot head. She didn't mean anything; she's just worried about you." Gently wrapping her fingers around Katie's wrist, she started to slowly pull Katie's wand away from Angelina's neck.

Finally relenting, Katie let her arm fall to her side. "Get her out of here," Katie grumbled to Alicia, not taking her eyes off of Angelina.

"Kat-" Angelina started to say, but Alicia held up a hand cutting her off.

"Not now," Alicia said, and she led the other girl towards the door.

Dropping back down in to the armchair, Katie let her wand fall on to the coffee table. With Alicia and Angelina gone, it was finally quiet. Katie rested her forehead in her hands as she felt her temples throb.

Unfortunately, a few moments later, her quietness, was interrupted by a knock on the apartment door.

"What!"

Slowly the door knob turned and the door opened. Katie stood up to _greet_ the unsuspecting guest, and found herself staring at the last person she expected.

"Came for another round?" she asked coldly.

Stepping through the door, Harry shut it behind him. "No, actually. I came to… apologize."

Katie closed the few remaining steps to him, and then taking the sudden impulse; Katie drew her fist back and slugged Harry in the jaw. As Harry stumbled backwards, eventually banging the back of his head on the door, Katie cried out in pain as she cradled her now throbbing hand.

Holding his jaw while trying to clear his head, Harry squinted at Katie. "Feel better?" he asked.

Unable to hide a small smirk, as she rubbed her knuckles, "A little."

Regaining his balance and footing, Harry rubbed his jaw trying to ignore that slight taste of blood in his mouth. Katie regarded him for a moment. "Now, what?" she asked him finally.

"Dinner?"

"Dinner?" Katie repeated his question in surprise. "After… well, everything."

"Yea," Harry answered. Shifting his jaw back and forth a little, he walked up to her. "Friends fight, it's normal. I apologized, you deck me, and now we move on."

"It's a little more complicated then that."

"I know," Harry said with a shrug. "But, realizing I over reacted, I wanted to make things right."

"Why did you over react?" Katie asked.

"That," Harry told her, "is what we'll talk about over dinner."

Katie glared at him for a moment, but her reluctance to the invitation quickly disappeared. "Fine. But I'm not making any promises."

"Agreed."

"There is one thing though," Katie said. "What the Bludger is your head made out of?" she asked, tenderly rubbing her hand. _I hope I didn't break anything._

Laughing, Harry reached out and took her hand in his, making sure she didn't hurt it too badly. _Well, I've had worse starts to relationships than getting punched._


	7. Finding A Balance

A/N – Takes place a few months after Part 6. I pictured Parts 1 – 6 spread out over December and January, and this Part in late May. Thanks to my beta Thoth for all her help.

Part 7 – Finding A Balance

Prompt # 7 – red

Returning from the little kitchenette of his small flat, Ron handed Harry one of the two Butterbeers he was carrying, before he flopped down on an old worn out recliner. "You ready?" Ron asked after twisting the cap off and flipping it onto cluttered coffee table.

"I doubt I'll even play," Harry answered as he opened his own beer. "Robins' the starter. So unless he goes down, I probably won't see much action."

"Robins is over rated," Ron muttered as he took a long drink from his bottle.

Harry simply chuckled. "You just don't like him because he plays for United," he teased Ron. "He's played in the last three World Cups, and almost every other major international competition. He's a proven player; I've only seen spot action here and there."

"He's still a bum," Ron reaffirmed Harry of his opinion. "I don't see _him_ taking the Cannons from the bottom of table back to a team who is going to challenge for the title next year.

"What has he won anyway? It used to be a honor to wear the English red jersey. Now, we can barely get out of the first round. He always seems to blow it in that crucial moment. It's time to give way to someone who can close the game; it's your turn now. Euro '04 is your stage to shine and show that you're the Seeker now.

"You've been getting most of the attention at practice, and rightfully so. Even at his prime, you're a better flyer than Robins. If you don't let those bigger Seekers, like Krum, knock you off, you're going to run them into the ground. In no time, you'll be wearing the Captain's band again."

Grinning at his best friend, Harry simply shook his head. When it came to Quidditch, Ron could be fanatical about it. "Ron, mate, you missed your calling. You should've gotten in to Quidditch somehow. I can just see you stalking the sidelines, barking orders at everyone."

"Yea, well," Ron said his chest puffed out a little. "What can I say; I have a mind for Quidditch. Which is why you should be bringing me along."

Harry let out a laugh. "You want to be the one to tell Katie she can't go to Italy?" he asked him rhetorically. "When you do, watch out for that right jab. You'll never see it coming."

"Fine," Ron said disappointedly. Propping his feet up on the table and crossing his arms over his chest, "What's she got that I don't?"

Looking at him for a moment, Harry gave him a look. "You mean, besides the obvious?"

Ron snorted and shook his head. "Thinking about _that_, when you should really be focused on playing in one of the most important tournaments of your life." Slowly a grin formed on Ron's face. "You been to Diagon Alley lately?"

"No," Harry answered slowly. "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"I was headed to the twins' shop the other day, and I passed _Quality Quidditch Supplies_. They have this big display up in their window; jerseys, posters, other random little junk. I stepped inside, just for a moment of course," he said sarcastically. They both knew that neither of them simply stayed a moment in that store. They were like Hermione in a bookstore, browsing and comparing for hours on the littlest things.

"I got to talking to one of the sales witches, I asked her if they had any Potter jerseys," Ron told him as his grin got wider. "She said they couldn't keep anything Potter related in stock, especially the Red 7.

"Then, you should've heard the little kids talking about how you were going to vanquish Krum like you did Voldermort. They were grabbing the last Potter posters, and-"

"Enough," Harry told him, trying to glare dangerously at the laughing Ron. "You get too much fun out of this. Makes me almost wish for the old days when you were grumpy and jealous."

"I got more than my fill after the end," Ron said seriously. "How is Katie handling it?"

"She's… getting used to it.

"I thought she was going to blow a blood vessel when she first read _Witches Weekly_ around Valentines. You thought I wanted to take out the _Prophet_? You should've seen her," Harry joked.

With Ron looking at him with a smug grin, Harry put his empty Butterbeer bottle on the table. "What?"

"Nothing," Ron answered, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Hermione's right," he said softly as he got up, heading towards the kitchenette to get another round of Butterbeers.

"About?" Harry asked cautiously as he drained the few remaining drops from his first bottle.

"You," Ron said over his shoulder. "That you're in love," Ron told Harry as he came back with two new bottles. "At first I thought she was a bit off, but you have been a lot calmer lately, defiantly more relaxed. Plus, look how you've been playing lately. You were good before, but now, you've brought your game up to a whole new level.

"That Wronski Feint you pulled against Wimbourne," Ron mused, letting out a low whistle. "And that corkscrew against Pride."

Harry shook his head with a smirk. Ron was going off on a tangent again, and Harry had learned to just let him go. _It's easier in the end to just let him ramble._ Settling back with his second Butterbeer, Harry half listened to Ron but his mind also wondered a little.

_Love?_ Harry thought to himself with a smirk. He wasn't even sure what love was. _Maybe. Defiantly worth finding out though._

As Katie lounged on the large king size bed of their suite in Verona, Italy, she watched Harry slowly pace about with an amused smile. The tournament had gone well for Harry. He had been inserted as the starter right before England's first match, and had flown easily through the group stage. In the knockout stage, they had easily beaten Denmark and had gotten past Spain, to advance to the final.

This was England's first finals appearance in any major tournament in the past half century, and, naturally, the press was chomping at the bit. But that wasn't what had Harry wound up so much. It was who England was scheduled to play; Bulgaria and one, Victor Krum.

This was the first time that two Seekers would face each other in competition since the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Potter vs Krum sent the Quidditch world in to a feeding frenzy.

For the past day and a half, every other person they had seen was either clad in the Bulgaria black or the English red. Everytime Harry tried to walk about, he would be swarmed by fans. Harry had probably signed his name to hundreds different items, ranging from miniature English flags to replicas of his own jersey, the Red 7.

_He's anxious, too much nervous energy,_ Katie thought to herself as she watched Harry mime various moves as he walked about. _If he keeps it up, he'll be exhausted long before tomorrow night. If he's not going to sit still, and relax, he needs to find a proper outlet for all this…energy. _A wide mischievous smile spread across Katie's lips.

"Harry," Katie called out, making him stop in the middle of an awkward motion that she guessed was supposed to be some kind of spin.

For a brief moment, Harry was annoyed that he had been pulled from his thoughts. But, Harry found it hard to stay that way as he looked at the blonde on the bed. Clad in a simple pair of small, khaki shorts and thin red tank top, Harry fought the urge to go over and play with every curve of her body.

_Damn witch,_ Harry thought sarcastically. His eyes had naturally found themselves studying her legs.

While she no longer played Quidditch, she did occasionally train with him. _You're more motivated if you're with someone than doing it alone,_ he remembered her telling him.

Chasers used brooms that were built for speed, and their riders relied on their leg strength to keep their balance and maneuver their brooms with the Quaffle in their hands. Harry's mind reminded him of how well Katie could handle a broom, and quickly found his imagination giving him an image of Katie's legs wrapped around something other than a broom.

Snickering, Katie looked at him curiously; even though she pretty much knew what was going on in his head. "And what's with the cheesy grin?" she teased.

"Temptress," Harry muttered and grinned a little when Katie laughed at him.

"You need to relax," Katie told him, repeating the same line everyone had been telling him for the past forty eight hours, ever since Bulgaria routed France.

"I am relaxed," Harry whined.

"Then why are you bouncing off the walls?" she asked rhetorically. Rolling his eyes, he slowly walked towards her. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous since your first match."

"I've never played against anyone like Victor before," Harry said.

With Harry standing in front of her, Katie casually looked up at him. "So, answer me this, who's the first girl you felt anything for?" Katie asked out of the blue. "Hermione? Oh, I bet I know. Cho, right?"

Harry's head jerked back slightly, _Like that's not a loaded question. What does that have to do with anything? It's got to be a trick._ "What?"

"The last thing you need to be doing is thinking about Quidditch, and, well, I'm curious," Katie told him. "So, who?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, and let out an aggravated breath. "Fine, umm," Harry said than paused, followed by a small snicker.

"Who?" Katie asked again, getting more intrigued.

"Remember, you asked," Harry said, going on the defensive. Katie gave him an annoyed look. "Alicia."

Katie sat there for a moment, surprised to say the least. "I'm gob smacked. Alicia?"

"She's the first girl I ever saw naked," Harry said cautiously. "Back in third year, after practice, the twins, you see, shoved me in to the girls changing area, and I… I caught a glimpse of her coming out of the bath."

_Do I dare tell Leesh? It'd be for a great laugh, but the twins would be dead men walking._

Taking the silence the wrong way, Harry grew nervous. "I mean, it wasn't my fault, and I only caught a glimpse," he tried to explain. Katie grinned up at him, and he knew he was just digging himself deeper. She wasn't upset, but she'd certainly remember this little piece of information, if only to tease him about it later.

_He may have been distracted for a moment, but he's still a ball of energy,_ Katie thought as she watched Harry shift his weight back and forth while playing with his hands, rubbing the joints of his fingers. _I think I can find a better release for all this pent up energy._

"If you don't stop, you're going cause yourself a mischief," she told him as she reached out, took a hold of his wrists, and drew him closer to her. Resting her chin against his chest, she looked up at him. Playfully, tugging at his red and white training shorts, "We need to find a way to get you to relax."

"I know," Harry mumbled, letting his hands fall on to her shoulders, letting his fingertips touch the thin red straps of her tanktop. "I'm gonna go for a spin. Maybe that'll clear my head."

Tightening her grip on his shorts as he tried to move away, Katie looked up at him like he was bonkers. "You are not going flying, much less at eight o'clock at night." She then fell backwards, dragging Harry over the top of her. As they fell back on to the bed in a heap, Katie playfully kissed Harry's throat. "Especially, when I can come up with a much better idea."

Four days, and a hard fought victory, later, Harry sat at the small kitchen table in Alicia and Katie's apartment, letting Alicia do another personal interview on him.

"After winning the European Championships, what are you going to do now?" Alicia asked.

Harry simply shrugged. "Relax for a bit, before camp starts," he answered. Then with a small grin, "Someone's been hinting about a trip to Atlantis."

Alicia snickered as Katie playfully elbowed Harry's ribs. "You've been playing like a man possessed since the New Year. Any reason for the improvement? Change in training? Technique? Routine?" Alicia asked, leading him on.

Harry smirked, knowing what she was after. "Just a change in outlook, I guess." Glancing over at Katie, the smirk faded to a small grin. "I still love playing, and see myself playing for a few more years, but I'm enjoying the other things in my life now. Maybe, I'm finally finding some kind of balance or something.

"Ultimately," Harry said as he leaned back, and Katie placed her hand over his. "I'm starting to realize that there can be more to my life, our life, than just playing Quidditch."


End file.
